Among the species of the rich algological flora of the North Atlantic, some can be used for direct consumption in human food, although few are currently cultivated on a large scale and/or marketed for this purpose. The European tradition regarding this custom is practically nil and the expression of current eating habits is little different from the past. In Europe, only in times of hunger (for example, during the Great World Wars) was seaweed consumed by the populations closest to the coastline. In addition to the multiple applications described, which expanded enormously in the 1970s, based on phycocolloids (agar, carrageenans, and alginates)—used as thickeners in the food industry, in soups, meat preserves, dairy products, and pastries—there is currently a trend of increasing consumption, both in North America and Europe.

The on-site, rapid, and intelligence detection methods are the wave in food safety. Recently, intelligent point-of-care test (iPOCT) methods serve as a promising alternative for advanced monitoring in food safety. By integrating smartphones with various detection methods, iPOCT methods demonstrate unique merits. Compared with lab-dependent instruments, iPOCT strategies have a short turnaround time (several minutes), high accuracy (μm level or less), and portability (smartphones). This work discussed principles of optical and electrical iPOCT methods, including absorbing light, fluorescence, chemiluminescence, potentiometry, voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and amperometry. The review emphasizes the practical applications for testing chemical and biological hazards in complex food matrices. The commercialization, challenges, and future trends of iPOCT are discussed as well.

The Mediterranean dietary pattern, where extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) takes the central spot, is related to longer life expectancy and lower risk of a number of non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular, diabetes, dementias, and cancer. Positive effect of olive oil on a broad spectrum of diseases, including diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2), is usually attributed to its fatty acid content (e.g., oleic acid). Yet, in the last two decades researchers confirmed that, the phenolic compounds (e.g., oleuropein) also significantly alter on glycaemic regulation. Other unprocessed parts of olive plant (fruit and leaves) showed positive impact on glycaemic variability among individuals living with DMT2. The present review focuses on the available research findings on the effect of olive oil, fruits, and leaves on DMT2 treatment. Specifically, the focus is on polyphenols and fats of olive oil, fruits, and leaves with regard to their antidiabetic biological activities.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have experienced a dizzying development in recent years, which undoubtedly contributes to various fields of human activity such as biotechnology, engineering, medical sciences, food security, etc. This impact has taken place in the food field too, especially in the role played by nanomaterials (NMs) for producing quality nano-based products, food shelf life, and target-specific bioactive delivery, since traditionally the presence of these materials was not at the nano-scale. Anyway, switching these materials to their nano-forms carries benefits as well as risks that must be assessed. Thus, the evaluation of the presence and quantity of these NMs must be achieved based on reliable physic-chemical-analytical information; hence the impact that analytical chemistry should have in the nanoscience to develop validated methodologies for its control. Currently, this fact represents a significant challenge due to the difficulties of measuring entities at the nanoscale in complex samples such as those of food. This review critically explores these analytical challenges, their difficulties, and their trends within the general framework of NMs’ analytical monitoring in food.